It's still making the headlines here, and French news also reported the shooting that occured in Arizona last Saturday, which targeted a member of Congress, who remains in intensive care today, killed 6 people and injured 12 others. The day after the shooting, our friends GW and K were at home, and we obviously spent most of our time talking about what had just happened. GW was particularly shocked that a politician had been the target of the shooter. It is the first time this has happened in the U.S. since the assassination attempt of Reagan in the early 80s. As for me, frankly, I was surprised to learn that no politician had been killed in more than 30 years. Because not a week goes by without the local news reporting a shooting, and with 10,000 casualties of firearms annually in the U.S., why not a politician, in fact? The shooting of Tucson was the act of an apparently mentally unstable young man, who was able to buy a gun in one of the most permissive state in the matter. In Arizona, any person without a criminal record or medical records showing mental illness (conditions required by the federal government) can own a gun. And an extended magazine, for more than 30 ammunition, as used last Saturday, which was illegal in this country between 1994 and 2004, and still is today in California. The guy could shoot 30 bullets before being tackled when he stopped to reload. So in the last week, we've been hearing a little about passing tougher regulations on firearms, but without any real hope that this will really happen. New York Representative Carolyn McCarthy, who herself lost her husband when a gunman opened fire on subway passengers in 1993, announced she would propose a ban on large-capacity magazines. It is not even clear that this law has a chance in Congress. Note, I can imagine that it is sometimes convenient to have a one of these extended magazine. For example, I'm sure the GIGN uses it all the time. But honestly, for the average idiot here, I have my doubts ... And so, here we are again, like each time such a massacre occurs (Columbine, Virginia Tech ...), and voices are raised to reinforce gun control, the same flawed arguments are made again and again. Here are my two "favorite" ones: "If the victims had had a weapon, they could have stopped the shooter." And indeed, sales of Glock 19, the weapon used in Tucson, have apparently been doing great in Arizona the last 8 days. "It's not the gun that kills, it's the person behind it." But then again, the same person behind a knife or bare hands does far less damage ...